Exploring Education: Agency and Disclosure

Staying up-to-date about changes in laws, regulations, and policies that affect your practice is a key part of every real estate professional’s responsibilities. Understanding the impacts of the rules changes coming into effect on June 15, 2018 just got easier, thanks to Rule Changes: Agency and Disclosure, a course the Real Estate Council is developing in collaboration with the UBC Sauder Real Estate Division.

You can learn about Rule Changes: Agency and Disclosure and other educational initiatives by listening to RECBC’s latest Real Talk, Real Advice — will open in a new tab podcast with guest Devin Kanhai, Associate Director at the UBC Sauder Real Estate Division. Tune in at your convenience on iTunes and SoundCloud.

Read highlights of the conversation in this brief Q&A with Devin.

How was the Rule Changes: Agency and Disclosure course developed?

The Rule Changes course was developed in collaboration between the UBC Sauder Real Estate Division and the Real Estate Council. The staff at both organizations worked closely together to create the content for the course. The team used the content of the Rules themselves as the starting point and paired that with the comprehensive information available on RECBC’s website and the new material created by staff at the Real Estate Division.

What can licensees expect to see in the course?

The course will be an online course that incorporates videos, scenario-based learning, and assessments, all designed to address the recent amendments to the Rules on agency and disclosure.

What will licensees learn by completing the course?

The overall objective of the course is to increase licensee awareness and exposure to the recent changes to the Rules. Students completing the course will have an understanding of the content of the changes to the Rules and the purposes behind those changes. Furthermore, they will learn about some of the impacts the amendments will have on their practice, where to find the new mandatory Council forms, and where they can find more information on the changes, if needed. Rather than dictate business strategies, this course ensures that licensees know the technical regulatory requirements.

What is unique about this course?

In developing this course, the Real Estate Division is utilizing technologies that are present in our other programs in addition to some new technologies that we think will make the learning experience more valuable for licensees. For example, this media-rich course is focused on keeping the learner engaged and uses a variety of tools, such as videos, visual cues and interactivity to do so.

How can licensees get the most out of the course?

I think that licensees should take the course with an open mind and be ready to learn. Clearly, the changes to the Rules signal a shift in the focus of the industry to be more mindful of the consumer’s best interests. While change can be difficult, times of change also present a great opportunity to look inwards and re-examine one’s business practices and make refinements, if necessary. I would encourage licensees to take the time to not only complete the course requirements, but to reflect on the content and spend some time thinking about how the new Rules will need to be implemented into one’s practice.